AU swept Norfolk State University at Bender Arena in its final non-conference game of the season on Nov. 5, marking the 18th time this season the Eagles have swept an opponent.
“We played well, we stayed calm and steady,” junior setter Monika Smidova said. “We didn’t do anything crazy.”
Beating the Spartans (9-17, 5-5, MEAC) also gives the Eagles (25-2, 10-1, PL) their seventh straight win.
The Eagles dominated the match with solid play throughout the night. The Eagles won each set by 11 or more points. The team had an average hitting percentage of .488, notching a hitting percentage of .714 in the final set.
“[Monika and I] are working on playing a really fast game and it works pretty well,” junior outside hitter Kristyna Lindovksa remarked. “If the blockers are slower, it’s easier for me to have just one hand.”
AU continued the tactics that have allowed them to stay on top of the Patriot League all season long.
“We had a good serving game tonight,” junior middle blocker and opposite hitter Kelly McCaddin added. “We had great defense, specifically from [libero Megan Rosburg, Smidova, outside hitter Allison Cappellino, and outside hitter Julie Crum]–they really were anchors out there. We also had a lot of communication.”
This match against the Spartans will serve as a confidence booster for the Eagles as they prepare to play the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Nov. 8. AU’s loss to Army at Bender Arena is the only loss that AU has suffered against a conference team this season.
“This game was definitely nice for us,” McCaddin said. “We got a lot of little things together, which is like the final step before a big conference game like Army.”
Despite routing Norfolk State, the Eagles are concentrating on improving their play before facing Army.
“Army is the most important match of this week, so I think it bumped our confidence a little bit,” Lindovska said. “But still, we have to think that we are not the best team in the league. We have so many things to improve. I hope we are not going to think that Army’s going to play really badly so we [can] be prepared for them.”
As several players mentioned in previous games, the Eagles need to improve their blocking.
“I think we’re definitely in the tops of our league in blocking, but we can be blocking so many more balls,” McCaddin said. “We know it as blockers, our coaches know it, everyone knows it–so once we get that figured out, I think we’ll be on track.”
Nevertheless, AU had a significant advantage in blocks against Norfolk State. AU notched nine blocks compared to Norfolk State’s one block.
AU will embark on a two-game road trip beginning with a match against Army on Nov. 8.
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